Cheese cravings

[veganvoo]

Thanks for the advice and I've taken it all onboard. I also get veggies delivered and its a great help plus another thing to look forward to on a friday! I've also got heaps of beans n pulses so I guess my main problem is inspiration. I really enjoy different flavours so I've got to search out some new meal ideas while cooking up a few easy more mundane meals thus giving me breathing space.

[Soesja]

sit down once a week and make a menu plan for the whole week. get groceries accordingly so you don't have to go every day.
and if you lack inspiration then treat yourself to some cookbooks if you can afford it or do a real good browse on the web!

[Feesh]

I've been vegan for a little over 3 months and today was the first day I thought to myself I can't be bothered with this.

My friends were talking about Krispy Kream Doughnuts and Millies Cookies and I just got a craving for both of them.

It got to the point where I thought the only reason I'll stay vegan is because of my vegan jumper and I didn't become vegan just to get one of them!

At times like these, can anybody suggest anything to keep me going?

Sorry if this makes me sound like a complete tool.

Thanks

[xrodolfox]

Well, what are your reasons for being vegan in the first place?

[patientia]

Just make a mental note: "Animal ingredient containing products are not food."

[kokopelli]

Do you think your friends were deliberately talking about things they knew would tempt you into giving up on being vegan?

I don't know what Krispie Kream doughnuts and Millies cookies are, but I assume they contain dairy produce. You could try thinking about where the milk comes from. I live right near a dairy farm and I see the shit-coated, lame, ulcerated, snotty cows staggering to and from the milking parlour most days. The parlour floor is also covered in slurry, and directly opposite it is an enormous lagoon full of shit. If I wasn't already vegan, the sight would certainly put me right off. To make matters worse, the government now wants to kill all the badgers in the area in a misguided attempt to curb TB infection in cattle. So dairy milk will be paid for in badger blood, too.

Are Krispie Kream doughnuts worth it?
Try finding, or making, vegan alternatives.

[harpy]

Try finding, or making, vegan alternatives.

Yes I think that is quite important too. Even if you know all about the suffering involved, the spirit can be willing but the flesh weak. So I would keep an emergency supply of vegan junk food on hand in case it happens again You can get vegan donuts, cookies and stuff and if you search the forum you will find people are talking about where to get them.

To look on the bright side, I think it's only a temporary problem because after a while you sort of internalise the idea that dairy products etc aren't food and then you're not really tempted by stuff that might contain them.

[MoonDance]

It also helps if dairy and eggs make you sick!

[xrodolfox]

I want to be vegan for more than just the health reasons. Where I live, I have tried to ask the cooks/managers/et cetra if they can cook somethin vegan and they are either irritated or ask if it's okay if it contains eggs/cheese/ or CHICKEN...? No one around here seems to even know what a vegan is and when I try to explain, they say..."Well what about eggs? You need to eat eggs... you might get sick if you dont get enough protien!?!"

When I first went vegan, I didn't cook for myself for nearly two years.
Heck, my problem is that I go out to eat TOO MUCH, and my money gets all spent on eating out.

If you need to figure out a balance eating out, you are in luck.

1) DON'T ask restaurants, unless they are VERY FANCY, to make you vegan food. They won't do it, *unless* you are at a fancy place or a place that caters to vegans.

2) Go to "ethnic" places. They are often most easy to "veganize".

Chinese is easy: get tofu instead of meat. Ask for "no eggs". Order simple veggie dishes at first, and make sure that it is a simple "no fish" sauce. Asian places rarely use dairy.

Mexican is a cinch: Ask what beans are vegetarian. Then get them, w/out cheese, in a tortilla. Add the veggies available. Don't skimp on avocado. Done!

Indian is simple: make sure to ask about the ghee (clarified animal butter), or yogurt, and avoid that. Simple.

Middle eastern is my favorite: Falafels done fresh rarely have dairy. Just ask first. Add hummus, tahini, and some veggies, and you have a great sandwich! Eggplant dishes rock too.

Thai: Get tofu with your choice of veggies. Thai places sometimes use fish in their stock for the sauce, but that is simple to ask.

2) Know what you can eat a chain restaurants. Taco Bell, Subway, Ceasar's Pizza, Pizza Hut, Noodles and Co, and a few others are not great places to support when you can go local instead, but they top the list for vegan places in a pinch. Their menus are online, and you easily find out what you can eat there by asking to see the ingredient list from the store manager. They have that stuff readily available at all those stores. Once you know, you have that knowledge for life. I *know* that they have some of those stores in NC.

3) Eat lots of healthy snacks, and try to never be hungry. Being low in blood sugar and being hungry can pin us into terrible decisions. Have a healthy snack like an APPLE, or some vegan yogurt, or a bunch of whole nuts (which require lots of chewing. While high in calories, studies have shown that folks who eat nuts before meals as snacks end up eating LESS calories overall than folks who don't... so eat your nuts and you'll continue to loose weight). Eating snacks prevents you from making decisions with less than your full attention.

Do these three things, and you'll be on your way to success.

[Korn]

Hi,


Some quotes for Feesh...


It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein

If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking. ~Buddhist Saying

Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines. ~Robert Schuller

If I would feel any motivation or urge or to eat/use animal products, I think I'd first look at that impulse and figure out what it was.

Maybe it helps to remind oneself that going vegan isn't something abyone has imposed on us, but something we have chosen?

Cravings, backlashing, and lack of motivation isn't a vegan specific thing, and I guess the reasons that ex-smokers sometimes want a cigarette or an ex-alcoholic may want a drink are very similar to why a vegan may crave non-vegan food or junk food.

A craving, for example, when changing eating habits, shouldn't come as a shock on anyone, it should be considered something to expect. I'm sure cravings etc. happened to many of the initial founders of the vegan movement as well.

Could it possibly be that the vegan food you currently happen to eat isn't nutrient rich, varied or tasty enough?


It's not only about breaking old habits, but also about having the patience to create new habits.

[IbanezGuitar5]

Damn, this is an old post, but if your still having the problem, just be positive. Be strong, don't give into the cheese or the milk or whatever. Believe me, im a new Vegan, its hard. Just focus on losing the 30 pounds. Forget everything else. You got this in a bag!